Why I Choose. . .

                                         

Why I choose this Greek God

over this Mythical Mermaid

Many of you are familiar, I have NO DOUBT, with Starbucks coffee company. In fact, Trinity even has some stock in it. It was a gift. Starbucks is not my favorite coffee but it is reliable in that it tastes the same wherever you go. I'm always down for a Vanilla nonfat Latte though I'm not much for branching out in my coffee selection. I could go for all the teas and summer drink junk that the lovely lady offers but I simply can't afford regular purchases at the prices they have THAT ARE ONLY GOING to go UP if the coffee shortage has it's way. 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2014/02/21/dont-panic-but-theres-a-global-coffee-shortage/

Anywhoo. . .most companies that you purchase frequently at offer a Rewards program and Starbucks is no different, except that it only rewards those who drink daily if not multiple times a day from their overpriced menu. The kicker is, you must purchase a gift card (or receive one) and then register it and ALWAYS use that same card. Oh you can have multiple cards on your account but last time I looked my wallet didn't have room for six Starbucks cards that I have no idea what amounts are on anymore. Also, the rewards are all based on "stars" that you earn. You can earn them sometimes by buying certain coffee beans. I don't drink coffee at home. You can earn them by having a particular drink they are highlighting. Did I mention I only like a few select ones? You can earn them by buying a drink for three consecutive days. I never buy three coffees in three days, I would be broke. Are you getting the picture? Even my free birthday drink was inaccessible to me because I didn't have a registered card to load it on. A friend kindly bought me an egift on Facebook. It clearly said to print it and take it to the barista, which I did today. The barista tried to tell me I had to take it home and register it and wait for the gold star card to arrive in the mail. Excuise me? I showed him what the directions on the printout said and another barista came to the window to look it over. Turns out I was right, I only needed that printout, but if I wanted to get ALL the amazing rewards then I would need to register it. They didn't seem to understand that I DIDN'T have any desire to be part of a club that seemingly saves you money but in the end would have me spending three times my usual coffee budget before I started earning. It's like being in line at the store and the deal is get five bucks off when you spend twenty-five but you're at 23.99 so you go buy some piece of junk or candy you don't need just to "save" money. Ha! We've all done that. No deal and sooooo aggravating. I'm INTENSELY tired of having to have a card for every store I enter in order to save money. What a racket. 

So on my birthday, since I didn't have a REGISTERED card and hadn't yet printed my egift I stopped by my favorite local coffeeshop, MERCURY's Coffee. They know me there because I go the back way to bible study every Wednesday to get my tall non-fat milky way. They put CHOCOLATE COVERED COFFEE BEANS on your cup AND give your kids a sucker. They aren't cheap but sometimes that is the only coffee I purchase all week and it is WORTH it. When I pulled up she said "tall non-fat milky way?" and I said "make it a Grande because it's my birthday." to which she replied "Happy Birthday and here's your drink for free". Boom. That. Just. Happened. I drove away happily enjoying my %100 organic fair trade coffee with hormone free milk. Mercury's puts coupons in the mailers. Regular old $1.99 for any drink 20 ounces and under coupons. Also, when you fill a pre-paid card you don't have to "register" it and they give you a free drink straight up right away for loading it with a certain amount.. . AND they carry Pumpkin Spice all year round. You can't ask for more than that. Okay, so I'm really not trying to disparage Starbucks. They have an incredibly successful company and lord knows when I'm in a foreign counrty I will look for that two tailed she-devil and gleefully shove my Euros or whatever I have at her. Here at home however, I am content to chase the fleetest of pleasures at Mercury's. (Get it? "Fleetest" - Mercury / the messenger of the gods?) and parallel to that, why is the coffee cup always empty so fast? Another rant for another time. 

Isaac's Birthday

On Saturday we celebrated Isaac's Birthday. We had a fun party with lots of local friends hanging out and Nee Nee and Granda surprised us by showing up Friday Night. Yes, I may have jumped up and down for five minutes straight. Saturday morning we went out to get a few last minute things and mom and I hit a consignment store in North Bend where I found the most amazing vintage Mr. Blackwell dress. I had to have it even though it doesn't fit the theme for my roaring 20's speakeasy birthday bash my sister is throwing when we head over to Spokane area the end of June. It's definitely all Mad Men but I just fell in love with it instantly and when I put it of it fit like a glove. Sold. Anyway, back to Isaac's birthday. The kids enjoyed my "Dr. Suess" carnival. I would say their favorite game was Ring the Gak, where Jeremy wore a hat with pool noodles taped on and the kids tossed rings at him. This was pretty funny as some of the toddlers had some wild throws!

the entryway. . ."today you are you that is truer than true,

there will never be anyone more you-er than you. . ."

                    We had guests sign the                  There were 316 fish in the dish!

                    Happy Birthday book

                         

waiting for the guests to arrive. . .and here they come!

  

the toddlers had fun putting the "cake" on the plate. . .

and then we got to bouncing!!!

Only two at a time Isaac!

 well where did this cutie come from? he was hiding inside along with my dad, the booger. (my dad, not baby Austin)

We called this "Ring the Gak" from One fish, Two fish, Red fish, Blue fish

now cupcakes and presents!

 couldn't have made the party happen without help from me mum!

 Happy Birthday Little Man!

Isaac Update

Our little man has been officially diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. He is at a level four out of ten with ten being the most affected and zero a non-autistic child. We will be continuing his one on one speech therapy, adding in some ABA, and enrolling him in the IEP preschool at SES (where Trin and Blake go) that will begin in September. It's four half-days a week. This is all a lot to take in for a mother who didn't send her two olders to school until Kindergarten. I feel pretty good about it though. We are taking some steps to get some help lined up through programs such as FEAT. They should be able to walk us through insurance issues and what therapists to work with. Isaac is a super smart little guy but we really need to get his speech/language up to speed. For the elementary years we are looking at possible frustrations with school as far as learning style (he is very gross motor-oriented/ hands on while school can be very "sit and listen") and continued support of social/behavioral patterns (eye-contact, etc). I am used to his "normal" so it can be frustrating to be told again of his delays, I'd rather opt for the term "late-bloomer". That being said, I know Autism isn't something to ignore and through the help he receives at an early age our goal is for the least amount of frustration through his teenage years and into adulthood. I am praising God that it is not at all a debilitating level and that he is a very affectionate and empathetic child. And so we begin.